Today I am going to tell you how to make a gift basket on the run… you know… in the event you are being chased with an ax or something. The other day I had to make a last minute gift basket for a coworker. It was Tuesday night and I had all of one hour to do this. In my hunt for gift baskets I realized that these things are only in stores twice a year, and unfortunately this isn’t one of those times. No big deal, I can make my own!
I know, the suspense is killing you, so let me tell you right now, I did make my own, and it was wonderful. On a totally unrelated side note, this right here is why I could never write a novel. I would give away the ending before the finishing the first chapter. Now, as I am making my way through Target I figured the first thing I should find is a basket. Apparently those aren’t on sale this time of year either. Note to self: stock up at Easter! I found tons of wicker containers, but I cannot even imagine the amount of chocolate I would have to buy to fill one of these:
They had some small baskets in the children’s section. I found one that had Toto from The Wizard of Oz in it. It was cute, but I would have to remove him from it. I am sure the kids would love a new stuffed animal, but I think the basket was too small.
After circling the store in search of any other basketry items I had a brilliant idea. As I often do in times of panic. I mean, what is a gift basket? Does it really have to come in a basket? Why can’t it be a gift container? I found a beautiful little bucket. Perfect!
Then I went to candy aisle and picked out a bunch of Ghirardelli and Lindor Truffles chocolates, along with some other of my coworker’s favorites, and filled the pail nicely. She loves Almond Joys, and coincidentally so do I…. so there may be a few pieces missing.
Now all I needed was some cellophane wrap. Little did I know that that is also in stores only during select times each year. Guess what? This wasn’t the time. I went to the gift wrap section and found nothing suitable. Target has a Christmas section up already. But no cellophane wrap. Well, I was feeling pretty creative right about now so I wandered around the store looking for anything I can use. I found some slow cooker liners made of cellophane! And they fit the gift basket! I went home, got out the tissue paper and ribbons, and in less than five minutes I had a beautiful gift “basket.”
Granted all this business took about an hour, I wasted a lot of time trying to find the traditional basket making materials. So next time you have to make a basket on the run, head straight for the grocery section!
Christene, I made a gift basket once, filled it with all my favorite candy (obviously thinking of…okay, me), and ate it all. Maybe I should have used the stuffed dog? Love your blog! 🙂
It is probably for the best that I made it the night before. If it had been sitting around the house for a while… well… I can’t take responsibility for what might have happened to that candy 🙂